Savaneta is a town and region in southeastern

Aruba Aruba ( , , ), officially the Country of Aruba ( nl, Land Aruba; pap, Pais Aruba) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands physically located in the mid-south of the Caribbean Sea, about north of the Venezuela peninsula of P ...

. Until 1797, it was the island's capital city. It is home to the island's oldest surviving home, a 150-year-old ''cas di torto'', or mud hut. The Savaneta region has an estimated area of 27.76 square kilometers and 11,518 inhabitants according to the 2010 census.

History

Savaneta is the oldest village of Aruba. In the 16th century, it became the capital of the Spanish administration. After Aruba was conquered by the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, the governor lived in Commander's Bay, a natural harbour near Savaneta. In 1797, the government moved to

Paardenbaai Paardenbaai (English: ''Bay of Horses'') or Port of Oranjestad is the main seaport for passengers in Aruba. It is located in Oranjestad and has existed since 1796. History In 1796, Fort Zoutman was constructed near Paardenbaai. It was a natural ...

which would later become Oranjestad. By 1816, only one house had remained inhabited. In 1852, the Canashito plantation was established, and workers were exempt for taxation for eight years. Still only 13 men and 5 boys moved to Savaneta that year. Other plantations were more successful, and by 1867, Savaneta was recognised as a village. It was home to about 150 people. In 1877, a school was founded and in 1900 a church was built. Commander's Bay is nowadays used as the , a base for the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

, the

Netherlands Marine Corps The Netherlands Marine Corps ( nl, Korps Mariniers) is the elite naval infantry corps of the Royal Netherlands Navy. The marines trace their origins back to the establishment of the on 10 December 1665, by the then grand pensionary of the D ...

, the

Netherlands Coastguard The Netherlands Coastguard ( nl, Kustwacht Nederland) is maritime law enforcement branch of the Royal Netherlands Navy patrolling the Dutch coastline. Its operational command falls under the Ministry of Defence and the Royal Netherlands Navy is ...

, and the Aruban Military.

Notable people

Guillfred Besaril Guillfred Francis Besaril (born 9 January 1974) is an Aruban politician of the People's Electoral Movement. He has been Minister Plenipotentiary of Aruba since 20 November 2017. He previously served in the Estates of Aruba between 2013 and Novembe ...

(1974), Minister Plenipotentiary *

Ibian Hodgson Ibian Hodgson (born 30 June 1993) is an Aruban tennis player. Hodgson studied at Wichita State University from 2013–14. Hodgson has represented Aruba at the Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. I ...

(1993), tennis player. * Roger Peterson (1980), musician.

References

Bibliography

* {{commons category, position=left Populated places in Aruba Military in the Caribbean Military installations of the Netherlands Government of Aruba Regions of Aruba